JPH0566758A - External character font generator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To generate an external character font from existing font data. CONSTITUTION:Font data is stored in a base parts library 15 at every character constituent such as a line and a point. etc., which comprise a character as base parts. A main processing control part 11 prepares the external character font by combining the base parts designated by a key input device 12 corresponding to the shape of the character, and registers it on a user font definition storage part 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an external character font creating apparatus for creating an external character in a word processor or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a word processor has been provided with a vector font output device for displaying and printing out document data with high quality. In this vector font output device, for example, the font data in which the contour portion that constitutes a character is expressed by a coordinate sequence or a function sequence is stored in the font memory in a one-to-one correspondence with each character. Characters that were not written were registered as external characters. In this case, the dot font arbitrarily created by the user is printed as it is, or a vector font is automatically generated from this dot font and printed.

[0003]

However, in the case where the dot font created by the user is printed as it is, only the external characters are dirty and there is a feeling of strangeness, and in the case where the vector font is automatically generated, the overall balance is lost. , Only the external characters are popped up because they are not generated in the intended form. Therefore, it is possible to directly create the external character as a vector font, but it is difficult to create and the amount of data becomes large, so it cannot be said to be a practical method. An object of the present invention is to be able to create an external character font from existing font data.

[0004]

The means of the present invention are as follows. The font data storage unit 1 (see the functional block diagram of FIG. 1, the same applies hereinafter) stores the font data for each character component. For example, the font data (for example, a vector font) is stored in correspondence with a stroke, a dot, a radical, or the like that constitutes a character. The designation unit 2 is an external input device that designates the font data stored in the font data storage unit 1. The external character creating means 3 creates the external character font by combining the font data specified by the specifying means 2 according to the character shape.

[0005]

The operation of the means of the present invention is as follows. Now, it is assumed that the font data storage means 1 stores font data (base parts) in which character constituent elements such as a line or a dot are made into parts. Here, when the user creates a desired external character, one or more base parts are specified by the specifying means 2, and the external character creating means 3 creates the external character font by combining the specified base parts according to the character shape. To do. In this case, the arrangement position and size of the base parts are controlled according to the character shape. Therefore, the external character font can be created from the existing font data.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, an outline of the data structure of a character font or the like will be described. FIG. 2 shows a state in which a character font "end" is constructed by assembling various parts in which character components are made into parts. This character font is roughly classified as a high-order part that constitutes a radical. It can be a combination of a "crown" and another character font, the "original" character, as a part. The upper part and the character font are composed by combining multiple base parts etc. according to the letter shape, and the base part represents a character component such as a line or a dot of a stroke, and is a basic part that cannot be disassembled further. , Which itself constitutes one outline font, the "crown" (upper part) is composed of four base parts, and the character font "original" is also composed of a plurality of base parts.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the data structure of the parts, and the base parts are composed of skeleton data, weight data, both-end shape data, and the like. The skeleton data represents a line segment passing through the center of the character component, and the type thereof is (1) in the present embodiment, and the skeleton is represented by a straight line.
(2) The skeleton represented by a Bezier curve.
(3) There is a skeleton represented by a part of an ellipse. Note that there are small circles such as symbols that do not have a skeleton, and these are also handled as part of the skeleton data. The flesh data is the quadratic polynomial (Ax ² + Bx +
This is represented by c), and the thickness from the skeleton is sequentially calculated based on the skeleton data and the thickness data based on the quadratic polynomial, and the contour data is created. The shape data at both ends define the line end shape such as a brush scale, the end of a circle, etc., and the line end parts of the specified type are automatically generated by simply specifying the line end shape. The size of the line end component is automatically controlled according to the thickness of the line to which the line end component is connected.

The data structure of the character font is composed of the part number (or other character recognition number) of the upper part or the base part, the arrangement position, the enlargement ratio, etc. For example, as shown in FIG. It can be constructed by changing the length and arrangement position of the skeleton and reading out three times. The data structure of the upper part is also composed of the part number, the arrangement position, the enlargement ratio, etc., like the data structure of the character font.

FIG. 4 shows the skeleton of the base part, which is 1/2 times as wide,
It has been transformed to a height of 1.4 times, and such a magnification is defined in the character font and upper parts, but in this case, the thickness and both end shapes of the base part do not change, and Only the shape will change. Note that FIG.
Is obtained by multiplying the "diagonal payout" by the same magnification as in FIG. Even in the case of such diagonal lines, it is sufficient to multiply the length and width of the skeleton by a magnification. In this case, since the thickness is always defined as the distance in the direction perpendicular to the skeleton, a diagonal line that looks like a pseudo rotation is obtained.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the external character font creation device. The main processing control unit 11 controls the overall operation of the external character font creation device according to various programs. For the character code input from the key input device 12, refer to the font definition storage unit 13 or the user font definition storage unit 14. By searching for the corresponding character, sequentially extracting the base parts that form the character from the base parts library 15, changing the skeleton data by multiplying the skeleton, and referring to the flesh data and the like. The operation of generating the contour data and developing the contour data in the display memory 16 is executed for each one base part. The contour data filling process is performed after the contour data is generated. The dot pattern data in the display memory 16 thus generated is displayed and output from the CRT display device 17.

The font definition storage unit 13 stores the font data corresponding to all the characters that can be output, and defines the combination of base parts forming the characters. For example, the radical word "Gonben" consists of 6 horizontal lines and 2 vertical lines, where each horizontal line is placed and how long, and each vertical line is placed where and how long. It is defined for each line segment whether or not to arrange. The font definition storage unit 13 is composed of a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the contents are fixedly stored by the manufacturer.

The user font definition storage unit 14 stores font data having the same data structure as the font definition storage unit 13, and defines an external character font arbitrarily registered by the user. The user font definition storage unit 14 is composed of a RAM (random access memory),
The external character font desired by the user is written in the user font definition storage unit 14.

The base parts library 15 stores base parts capable of forming various characters. The base parts library 15 is composed of RAM, and the contents thereof are fixedly stored by the manufacturer. Is.

The group buffer 18 sets the external character font to 1
When defining on the screen, the set of base parts (for example, radicals) is defined as a group in the middle of the definition, and the set of base parts is temporarily memorized until it is arranged. ..

FIG. 7 shows a data structure table stored in the base parts library 15. here,
The base part is the smallest character component that cannot be disassembled anymore, and there are those that consist of one skeleton and two or more skeletons. Therefore, the data structure table has an N block (N = 1, 2 ...) Structure corresponding to the number of skeletons. The amount of each block data differs depending on the shape of the skeleton. That is, if the skeleton is a straight line, the amount of data is from the first variable to the tenth variable, if it is a Bezier curve, the amount of data from the first variable to the fourteenth variable, and if it is a part of an ellipse, the first variable. To the twelfth variable, and in the case of a small circle, the data amount from the first variable to the fourth variable. The first variable (8 bits) defines the shape (type) of the skeleton with the lower 2 bits. When the value is "00", it is a straight line, when it is "01", it is a Bezier curve, and when it is "10", it is a part of an ellipse. , "11" indicates a small circle. In the first variable, the other bits, that is, the upper 6 bits, define the shape of the line end. Of these 6 bits, the upper 3 bits indicate the shape of the starting end, and the other 3 bits indicate the shape of the ending end. In addition, the line end shape of the first variable is "000" for straight line cutting,
“001” indicates a semi-circle cut, and “111” indicates a brush stroke at the end of a vertical line. As described above, eight types of line end shapes are prepared in advance.

The second to fourth variables are the flesh data representing the thickness when the skeleton shape is a straight line, a Bezier curve or a part of an ellipse, and the size of a small circle. When the skeleton is a straight line, the fifth variable to the eighth variable indicate the position coordinates of the start point and end point of the line segment in the skeleton data. When the skeleton is a Bezier curve, the fifth to twelfth variables are skeleton data and indicate the position coordinates of the start point, first control point, second control point, and end point of the line segment. If the skeleton is part of an ellipse, the fifth variable to the tenth
The variables indicate the center coordinates of the ellipse, the radius, the start angle, and the end angle. The ninth and tenth variables when the skeleton is a straight line, the thirteenth and fourteenth variables when the bezier curve is a straight line, and the eleventh and twelfth variables when part of an ellipse is a straight line cut at the starting point. The correction value and the straight line cut correction value at the end point are shown. The correction value (+
31-32) are defined. This correction value indicates how much the cut surface is inclined when the line end is cut by a straight line, and line end parts are added along this cut surface. On the other hand, the upper 2 bits are the control data for changing the font,
This control data is used when changing the Mincho style to the Gothic style.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 shows a display screen when defining an external character font, and is a screen of a process of picking up a part necessary for creating an external character from now on by referring to a character "word" defined in the font definition storage unit 13. In this case, since each stroke is composed of independent base parts in the present embodiment, the required base parts are sequentially designated for each stroke. Now, when you set the cursor (arrow in the figure) to the base part 1 required for external character registration and specify the base part for each stroke, the specified base part has the position and magnification in the character "word". It is copied to the group buffer 18 as it is. Here, if all the base parts forming the radical "niben" of the "word" are sequentially designated, the "gonben" is copied as one group in the group buffer 18. At this time, if a reference position is provided in the group buffer 18, the entire group can be handled as one part, and as a result, the position can be moved in group units and the line thickness can be adjusted by designating the magnification. Enlargement / reduction is possible without changing, and it becomes possible to use it as the basis for creating another character without losing the overall balance.

FIG. 9 shows the character components extracted from the left side of the word "word" as described above, that is, the parts grouping the radical "niben" and the characters extracted from the right side of the other "general" characters. An example is shown in which an external character is created by combining the constituent elements, that is, all the character constituent elements other than the radical "Itohen" on the left side (black-painted portions in the figure) as groups. In this case, since two group parts are formed in the group buffer 18, a temporary part number is added to each of them, and an external character is created on the display screen by calling it and designating the position and the magnification. Then, when the user confirms the display screen and creates a preferable external character by designating the position and the magnification, when the transfer instruction is given from the key input device 12 in order to transfer it to the user font definition storage unit 14, the main processing control is performed. The unit 11 stores the external character font in the group buffer 18 in the user font definition storage unit 14. At this time, the group buffer 1
The reference position in 8 and the position of the base part in the group are combined to determine the position of each base part, and the scaling factor is similarly registered in the user font definition storage unit 14. This allows external character fonts to have the same data structure (part number,
Since it is defined as a character with position and magnification, the amount of data can be very small.

In the above embodiment, all the external characters are created by assembling the base parts which are the built-in character components. Therefore, the symbols having non-built-in parts should be created as external characters. I can't. Therefore, by further providing a user base part library and assembling the base parts arbitrarily created by the user, it becomes possible to create all symbols and figures as external characters.

According to the present invention, since the external character font can be created from the existing font data, it suffices to simply specify and assemble the existing font data. Therefore, the external character creation is extremely easy, and at the same time, the normal external character can be created. It is possible to obtain a high quality font similar to a character font.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a specific example of constructing the character “end” by assembling various parts in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of a data structure of base parts and upper parts.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example in which the skeleton of the base part is deformed.

FIG. 5 is a view showing another example in which the skeleton of the base part is deformed similarly to FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an external character font creation device in an embodiment.

7 is a diagram showing a data structure table stored in the base parts library 15 shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display screen when defining an external character font.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of creating an external character font.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 main processing control unit 12 key input device 13 font definition storage unit 14 user font definition storage unit 15 base parts library

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A font data storage means for storing the font data for each character component, a designation means for designating the font data stored in the font data storage means, and font data designated by the designation means. An external character font creating device comprising: an external character creating unit that creates an external character font by combining the characters according to the character shape.